Flagler sheriff's commander told to retire or be fired

Published: Wednesday, March 6, 2013 at 5:08 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, March 6, 2013 at 11:00 p.m.

It will be up to former undersheriff David O'Brien to decide whether he will retire or be fired by the end of the week, said Flagler County Sheriff Jim Manfre.

O'Brien, 49, was placed on administrative leave Wednesday and has until Friday to make his decision, Manfre said.

O'Brien, who until Wednesday was the third in command at the Sheriff's Office as a senior commander, had been undersheriff under former Sheriff Don Fleming and undersheriff for a time 10 years ago during Manfre's first stint as Flagler's sheriff.

“This is not an issue of politics or personalities,” Manfre said Wednesday. “It's about performance.”

Manfre released seven pages of performance review from the last two months, one from Chief Deputy Rick Staly to O'Brien dated Feb. 15 and a second to Manfre on Tuesday.

O'Brien said Wednesday that it has been a great honor to serve the residents of Flagler County for the past 29 years.

“I look forward to whatever the next chapter in my career is going to be,” he said, noting he has worked under four different sheriffs during his career in Flagler County.

O'Brien declined to answer whether he will choose to be fired or take retirement.

“There's really nothing else I want to say about this,” he said.

O'Brien, according to Staly, failed to meet deadlines when asked to write reports, policies and a “comprehensive plan” about domestic violence.

He was assigned to write an off-duty employment policy on Jan. 22 and provided Staly with a “draft” on Feb. 25.

“The policy was not properly formatted but more importantly the policy was poorly written with much duplication, grammatical errors and in some cases paragraphs that made no sense,” Staly wrote. “After spending 1.5 hours trying to fix the policy, I gave up and emailed Cmdr. O'Brien that I was disappointed in the quality of the policy.”

Another example Staly gave included a policy on vehicle issuance and replacement that Staly felt was substandard.

“Upon my review of the draft, it was obvious that Cmdr. O'Brien had copied another agency's policy but had not made the effort to edit the policy to fit FCSO,” Staly wrote. “While I am a firm believer of not reinventing the wheel, members of the agency at the executive level should take the initiative to present a policy that is virtually ready to go.”

The most egregious of O'Brien's actions, or inaction, was failing to show up with the SWAT team, which is under his command, to execute a “high risk” search warrant, Manfre said.

“That was just unacceptable,” he said.

Staly reported that he and Manfre attended a briefing beforehand but O'Brien had not and instead left a voicemail message asking for a call back, a report states. Staly was miffed because “this was a high risk search warrant because of the anticipation of automatic rifles and other firearms being present.”

When Staly returned O'Brien's voicemail, he reported that the senior commander asked if he could “cut-out early.” Staly reported to Manfre that O'Brien also failed to show up “on the scene of the executed search warrant.”

In his report to Manfre, Staly concluded that O'Brien “is either incapable or unwilling to perform at the executive level.”

Manfre said he also received complaints from “fellow employees” about O'Brien's “leadership issues” when he was transitioning into office late last year.

“I believe we gave him every opportunity to succeed,” Manfre said. “I have high standards and everybody from me to the rank and file deputies are accountable.”

Manfre is going to eliminate the position of senior commander and replace it with a commander position over the “neighborhood services” division.

Lt. Paul Bovino was named acting commander, Manfre said.

“Our intention is to fill the position from within,” the sheriff said. “If things work out, he's our first choice.”

<p>It will be up to former undersheriff David O'Brien to decide whether he will retire or be fired by the end of the week, said Flagler County Sheriff Jim Manfre.</p><p>O'Brien, 49, was placed on administrative leave Wednesday and has until Friday to make his decision, Manfre said. </p><p>O'Brien, who until Wednesday was the third in command at the Sheriff's Office as a senior commander, had been undersheriff under former Sheriff Don Fleming and undersheriff for a time 10 years ago during Manfre's first stint as Flagler's sheriff.</p><p>“This is not an issue of politics or personalities,” Manfre said Wednesday. “It's about performance.”</p><p>Manfre released seven pages of performance review from the last two months, one from Chief Deputy Rick Staly to O'Brien dated Feb. 15 and a second to Manfre on Tuesday.</p><p>“His (O'Brien's) administrative abilities continue to fall well below expectations of an executive level staff member,” Staly wrote.</p><p>O'Brien said Wednesday that it has been a great honor to serve the residents of Flagler County for the past 29 years.</p><p>“I look forward to whatever the next chapter in my career is going to be,” he said, noting he has worked under four different sheriffs during his career in Flagler County.</p><p>O'Brien declined to answer whether he will choose to be fired or take retirement.</p><p>“There's really nothing else I want to say about this,” he said.</p><p>O'Brien, according to Staly, failed to meet deadlines when asked to write reports, policies and a “comprehensive plan” about domestic violence.</p><p>He was assigned to write an off-duty employment policy on Jan. 22 and provided Staly with a “draft” on Feb. 25.</p><p>“The policy was not properly formatted but more importantly the policy was poorly written with much duplication, grammatical errors and in some cases paragraphs that made no sense,” Staly wrote. “After spending 1.5 hours trying to fix the policy, I gave up and emailed Cmdr. O'Brien that I was disappointed in the quality of the policy.”</p><p>Another example Staly gave included a policy on vehicle issuance and replacement that Staly felt was substandard.</p><p>“Upon my review of the draft, it was obvious that Cmdr. O'Brien had copied another agency's policy but had not made the effort to edit the policy to fit FCSO,” Staly wrote. “While I am a firm believer of not reinventing the wheel, members of the agency at the executive level should take the initiative to present a policy that is virtually ready to go.”</p><p>The most egregious of O'Brien's actions, or inaction, was failing to show up with the SWAT team, which is under his command, to execute a “high risk” search warrant, Manfre said.</p><p>“That was just unacceptable,” he said.</p><p>Staly reported that he and Manfre attended a briefing beforehand but O'Brien had not and instead left a voicemail message asking for a call back, a report states. Staly was miffed because “this was a high risk search warrant because of the anticipation of automatic rifles and other firearms being present.”</p><p>When Staly returned O'Brien's voicemail, he reported that the senior commander asked if he could “cut-out early.” Staly reported to Manfre that O'Brien also failed to show up “on the scene of the executed search warrant.”</p><p>In his report to Manfre, Staly concluded that O'Brien “is either incapable or unwilling to perform at the executive level.” </p><p>Manfre said he also received complaints from “fellow employees” about O'Brien's “leadership issues” when he was transitioning into office late last year.</p><p>“I believe we gave him every opportunity to succeed,” Manfre said. “I have high standards and everybody from me to the rank and file deputies are accountable.” </p><p>Manfre is going to eliminate the position of senior commander and replace it with a commander position over the “neighborhood services” division.</p><p>Lt. Paul Bovino was named acting commander, Manfre said.</p><p>“Our intention is to fill the position from within,” the sheriff said. “If things work out, he's our first choice.”</p>